Breast cancer has a harder impact on younger women

The 2015 Annual Report of the Ministry of Health revealed that the leading type of cancer in women in Fiji is breast cancer followed by cervical cancer.

“More women who were aged 20 to 30 were diagnosed with very large cancers of fifty millimetres or more, and also the cancers diagnosed for young women tend to be more aggressive”. As women reaches 50, the guidelines said that mammograms were recommended every two years.

Women diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer have a wide range of treatment options: treat it, have a mastectomy or do nothing.

The task force advises screening every other year starting at age 50.

Mayor Cecil Belle and the organizers hope to continue the breast cancer awareness walk next year and beyond.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and one Perry County church wants to make sure community members realize the importance of early detection.

Breast cancer survivor Joanne Maillet, 31, of South Yarra, said the figures of incidence of the disease in the young was “very scary” and urged young women to get their breasts checked and trust their instincts. It is just unfortunately one of those diseases that seems to touch a lot of people and the age unfortunately we see younger women developing that as well.

Jacqueline Johnson, director of imaging for the hospital, guided women through a model of how to check for lumps on their own breasts, while also scheduling them for mammograms. I have met many women who have found their breast cancer by doing a self-exam.

Strategic Initiative Coordinator of the Women’s Center Lara Vo set out to look for a local business to help support those patients in need in the Ogden area.

“It’s often viewed as something that only affects older women but I think it does raise this awareness that it can happen to younger women as well”, he said.

“They end up ignoring the signs and going to their GP too late but there’s a much better chance of survival if it’s picked up earlier”.